mi casa es tu casa
by sundrymunity
Summary: gold welcomes many people into his home and life, but none so special as his new brother and girlfriend hopeful. pokemon au in which silver was only half kidnapped and ended up in violet city's trainer school/orphanage. can also be found on ao3!
1. Chapter 1

"I want a little brother!" Gold had proclaimed. "For my birthday, I want a little brother."

His mom had told him she didn't have a husband to make a baby brother with, but there was an orphanage in Violet City if he wanted to go see later on. He'd grinned and accepted this proposal.

It takes a few years from that sparkling, sunny day, but as he's reaching the responsible age of twelve he's finally going to Violet City. Gold wonders what kind of brother he'd be getting. A nice one? A mean one? Younger, of course, but he probably wouldn't mind someone around the same age... Or if they were a girl. They wouldn't be half as fun because he can't push girls around, but it'd be okay. He bounces on his heels as he and his mom make the trip on foot, leaving their Pokémon at home in the care of a trusted neighbor, and can't sleep when they stop in Cherrygrove for the night.

The girl who meets them outside is pretty. Around his age but slightly taller, developing quite nicely (or so his budding hormones tell him as they tighten his throat and send warmth across his body), but her earrings catch his attention not a moment after. Shining stars. Her name is Crystal, but they can call her Crys. She has a nice smile, though it looks kind of tired.

She invites them in and asks if they have any preferences on who to meet. Gold's mom looks down at him and nods.

"... Uh. Not really? Guess someone younger than me, but not too young..." He drawls out, leaning against the wall and glancing around. This place was kind of a dump. Huh. Wasn't it supposed to part time as a school too? "Around my age is fine too. I'm twelve, by the way. And the name's Gold."

"I see... Well, there's some kids playing outside if you want to meet them, and there's a few upstairs that I can call down for you." Crys smiles and Gold grins back slowly. She really is something pretty. He hears his mom giggle from beside him and he pivots to looking outside.

"Thanks. That'd be neat."

Crys leaves to go do so and he groans, smacking his head against the glass. Neat. He said neat. Of all the things to describe it as, he said neat. He closes eyes and sighs.

There's a bang at the window and when he opens his eyes, he's staring down at a pair of silver ones. He steps back quickly and studies the kid. About his age, maybe, can't tell if they're the same height because of the floor difference... Red hair, silver eyes, kind of pretty actually. But somewhat boyish. So a dude. Maybe. The long hair makes it hard to tell, but face claims boy.

The red haired teen leans against the window, apparently curious, and a pink feather twitches from behind him.

"They let them keep Pokémon here?" He asks his mom, though the boy apparently read his lips or something because he hides the Sneasel as fast as he can. Mom looks back and smiles at the silver eyed youth.

"Well, isn't he cute? He looks kind of quiet, too... I'm not sure if they're allowed to keep Pokémon, but I don't see why not as long as they're old enough to take care of them."

Gold hums a little, studying the teen, and shrugs. They can ask Crys about it when she comes back.

They go through a lot of potentials, all of who like Gold and who Gold likes back, but he keeps thinking about the guy outside the window. With his Sneasel. So, when the last of them are gone, he asks her about him.

"You saw Silver?" She seems surprised. "He doesn't usually approach others. Even I had a hard time getting him to come around at first... He does have a Sneasel, but only because he gets jittery without him around. They're practically inseparable."

Then, she leans closer and Gold can feel his throat tighten. "I'm a little worried. He showed up here a while ago, but he still hasn't been adopted for a number of reasons. Could you... you know, try and be his friend? It'll be nice if he has a friend besides me."

The only thing that connects in his mind that if he's friends with Silver, then Crys'll be his friend too. Cool. Okay. He grins, says it's no problem, and races outside to to go find him. Can't be that hard to find a red haired kid with a Sneasel, right?


	2. Chapter 2

It's really, really hard to find a red haired boy with a Sneasel.

Gold leans against the wall surrounding the place, panting slightly, and sits down. Sheesh, where the hell did that guy go? The sun's setting too... His mom'd want him to come back, they'd maybe stay in Violet City for a bit, but they've gotta get back to New Bark. He groans slightly and leans back.

And, looking up, he sees red hair from between two legs.

"You! I've been lookin' for you!" Both of them scramble up, Gold mad and the other looking down defensively at him. Sneasel's beside him with claws gleaming in the orange light. "Your name's Silver, right? I'm Gold. I'm, uh, a friend of Crys's. Kinda. Just became it today. Do you wanna play?"

Silver perks up at that slightly, and after a moment he hops down with Sneasel. Gold grins.

"I mean, it's kinda late, but you seem like you'd be pretty good at hide 'n seek. Wanna?"

"... Sure."

"So you can talk! Okay, cool. Nice to meetcha too, Sneasel, I'm Gold." He reaches out and pats the bewildered Pokémon, obviously unused to people not being frightened off by his claws, and nods. "Then, I'll stand here and count to ten and you'll go and hide. Better move fast! I'm a good seeker!"

Once it's agreed to, Gold closes his eyes and he can feel Silver move closer to make sure he's not peeking before he darts off. Someplace to the left. Okay. Ten, nine, eight... and so on. And then it's his time to move, even though he's still tired from running around looking for him the first time, though at least this time he's got some idea of where Silver might be.

Namely, up above. No problem.

"Alright, Aibo, you've done well with hiding until now... Let's find him!" The Aipom wiggles his way out of Gold's hoodie with a large grin, climbing onto his shoulder instead, and the monkey keeps an eye above as the boy keeps his own gaze straight. "Maybe he'll be nicer when he sees I've got a partner too, right?"

Yeah, totally. Gold spends the time describing Silver to him - red hair, silver eyes, really quiet, got a Sneasel with him, probably shy, my height and age - and they keep to the left side of the play area until it loops around and there's still no sign of the other boy. He scratches his chin and Aibo does the same, then sticks his hands in his pockets with a loud, drawn out sigh.

"Guess he wins, huh Aibo? A really good hider..." There's a slight movement from the tree a little ways away and he casually veers his way towards it. "Or that's what I'd say if I didn't figure out where you were- Huh?"

There's just the boy's Sneasel there, smiling widely as he hangs off the branch, and disappears further up. Gold scrambles up the tree, Aibo scurrying after the other Pokémon, and it takes a few minutes before he's got his footing right and is heading up at the speed he wants. Shoot. If that Sneasel was here though, Silver had to be as well! There's no way they'd be apart, right? Right. Otherwise he got jittery.

He doesn't find Silver but he's got a pretty good view from up here. Aibo's gone too. Gold breathes out, almost a sigh if it wasn't for the frustration seeping into his tired body, and he looks up. "I wonder where he went off to... Did he go to the top? Sheesh, what a kid. Guess I'll keep goin' on up-"

"We have to get down." The voice is curt and quick, and Silver jumps onto the branch beside him. Sneasel follows after and Aibo appears from behind the teen's head. "Now."

"What? Why?"

His answer's met with a loud buzzing noise and his eyes widen as he realizes why.

Beedrill.


	3. Chapter 3

"Your Aipom knocked down a part of their hive when he was climbing up." Silver swings down with little caution and total confidence, and Gold follows after the best he can. Stupid acrobat. Aibo scratches the back of his head sheepishly and leaps onto his trainer the moment he can. "... We can't let them get to the other kids."

"Yeah? No problem." Gold stops for a moment to study the play area and then continues downward. "I got a plan."

"Is it gonna work?"

"You bet your bottom dollar it will! I don't make bets I can't win. Trust me, alright?"

Silver gives him a doubtful look, but he seems more concerned with making sure no one gets hurt rather than if it'll truly work or not. Good. They hit the ground about the same time Gold feels the beat of the Beedrill wings behind them and takes off running towards the wall, the redhead following after quickly. But the Pokémon's agility isn't to be underestimated, as a line of them swarm in front of them with their needles ready, and Silver speeds up.

"Sneasel, Icy Wind!" The ground becomes coated in it and Gold grins as they slide right beneath the poisoned points.

"Could've been a little closer, Silver."

"Keep running with your feet instead of your mouth."

The Beedrill are relentless with their swarm, though thankfully it isn't the thousands it could've been if they were in New Bark, and Gold glances over at Silver. The wall's closing in.

"Hey, can you return Sneasel, or is he always just hangin' around like that?"

"I'm not letting you have him."

"Do you wanna survive or what?"

Silver hesitates, glancing over at Sneasel, then takes out a ball from his pocket and returns him. He's even more reluctant to hand the ball over to Aibo, but with the Beedrill gaining on them again he does.

"Alright Aibo, let's give them an early winter welcome!" The Aipom scales the wall in front of them easily and clicks the button on the ball as he tosses it further up.

"Icy Wind!"

The height definitely helps, the ice spreading far to the sides and backwards at the swarm, and Sneasel lands easily on the ice. Most of the Beedrill are frozen over, though still clearly alive, and Gold grins as he comes to a stop too. His heart's never beat faster.

"Good, you got it. Whew!" He falls back onto the frosted grass and watches Silver. "So. Whatcha think?"

"That was a very simple plan," replies the other teen. Aibo curls up on Gold's lap as he sits up with a frown. "They're going to thaw out soon."

"Yeah, I guess we oughta be going. And don't knock simple plans! They're good, alright?!"

Silver doesn't reply, just studies the Beedrill, and starts for the dump of a house he stayed in with the others. Gold frowns and stands, the monkey clinging onto his shirt at the abrupt movement. Whatever. He knows he did a good job. The crackling of ice doesn't catch his attention at first, but the steady beating of wings regaining their function does and he turns just in time to barely dodge a projected needle.

Right.

They can do that.

"Get inside!" He yells, and Silver looks back long enough to figure out he's standing his ground - much to Gold's annoyance.

Crys steps out of the school, probably to see what all the commotion is about, and that is the last thing he wants to see-

There's a pain in his side, a small cut where he'd thought he'd missed the needle at, and the poison runs as fast as he does through his veins. It takes all his power, but he manages to get to Silver before blacking out.


	4. Chapter 4

Having a little brother is awesome, Gold thinks as he climbs the tree. He hears voices from down below calling him back, but he just waves his hand and continues on. His little brother's at the top. They're gonna plan out their next escapade together, from one edge of town to the next. It's gonna be great! They'll race from one side to the other, they'll stop conmen from terrorizing the people of New Bark, they'll-

A branch cracks from above him and falls, a person on it, and before he can react his little brother plummets to the ground. The world is silent. Gold stares down, a numb feeling in his chest, and with a frantic calmness he swings downward. The drop from the ground seems short in comparison to what he witnessed. Unknown faces surround him as he studies the dark, twisted figure, and with a rising panic he forces his eyes open.

"Oh, his eyes are open!" That's a familiar voice. A girl's voice. A pretty girl's voice. Gold's heart is pounding and he struggles to break free, but he calms when he realizes he's laying on a bed. "Miss, your son's eyes are open."

"He's had worse than poison, haven't I told you? He fell from a tree once and cracked his skull open." Despite her light words, his mother blocks out the brightness of the room with her form and kisses his forehead. "Did you have a good nap?"

"Uh... Sure? I don't know." Things are a bit hazy, but he remembers everything all at once when he sits up and sees Silver sitting across the room from him, staring at him intently. His head is killing him. Back to laying down. Crys - that's the pretty girl's name, yeah - sighs in relief and frowns. It's like a light switch.

"I already scolded Silver about this, but what you did was dangerous! Though I didn't realize there were Beedrill in there myself..." Sigh. Gold grins at her but winces when she goes back to lecturing. "A bunch of Beedrill and you want to fight with them. How stupid are you?"

"Very, " Silver pipes up.

"No one asked you..." Gold grumbles in reply, touching his bandaged side slightly. Didn't hurt too much. So a few hours? Maybe. "So, what happened?"

Crys smiles. "I captured all of them."

"What?! How?" She giggles, shaking her head.

"My mom's a pro-catcher, and I am too. We specialize in capturing all kinds of Pokémon - no matter how dangerous." What a luxurious lifestyle. "I used balls crafted by Mr. Kurt in Azalea Town to catch them before things got too out of hand."

"That sounds cool," he has to admit, and Silver nods.

"Crys is pretty amazing."

That gets her a little pink in the cheeks, and she waves off the compliment with acceptance and some modesty. When Gold's feeling good enough to stand, he does so in front of Silver with his arms crossed. They stare at each other.

Then, "Let's hang out some more! You and Sneasel are pretty tough. Me and Aibo'd totally love to- Hey, where's that monkey anyway?"

"... He's playing with Sneasel," the other finally replies. Shocked maybe? Or something. Gold motions for an answer about hanging out, and Silver nods. "Okay."

"Cool! We're stayin' here for what, a week?" Please? His mom laughs joyfully and nods, standing.

"A week's fine. Let me call Auntie Marie and tell her we'll be staying here a little later."

"A week! So we've got tons of time to hang out. Hey, Crys, what kinda stuff you got here in Violet City? And I wanna try your local food too!"

Despite what'd been happening before, the atmosphere in the room is everything but despairing. Crys looks at Silver and smiles brightly. "I... guess I can spare a few hours to show you around if you'd like."

"Cool, cool. It's too late to start right now, right? I'll come back in the mornin' to pick you two up. We can hang out 'til Crys is done with whatever a busy Beedrill does." Maybe not the best phrase to use, but whatever. Silver nods with a slight smile.

Gold grins at the two of them.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're up early today," his mom observes. Gold shrugs and chows down. "You still have your bedhead, though."

"It's fine, they're not gonna see anythin' different about it."

"That's because you don't brush your hair like you should." She ruffles his hair, much to his groaning, and lifts his shirt to check on the cut he'd gotten yesterday. Apparently satisfied with it the shirt's dropped and he's left in peace as she washes the small hotel's issued pots and pans.

"I'm gonna head there!"

"Make sure you bring Aibo with you."

"Wouldn't leave without him. Come on, Aibo!" The Aipom snuggles further into his seat, sighing deepily, and Gold laughs at his screech when he picks the monkey up by the tail and startles him. "Don'tcha wanna see Crys and Silver again? You lazy monkey."

Aibo snickers a little, swinging onto Gold's shoulder and clinging to it. They're set to go and with a last goodbye the two head down to the schoolphanage. Yeah. Schoolphanage, that was a nice one.

Crys meets him at the door with a yawn, straightening up with an attractive upward stretch that he heats up a little at, and explains that they're all eating breakfast - herself included. He joins her and Aibo takes her shoulder as his new perch as they walk.

"Silver enjoyed your company yesterday."

"Of course he would! I'm the funnest guy this side of Johto, you know." Heh. Gold straightens proudly and Crys smiles warmly. "He doesn't get along with the rest of 'em?"

"Oh, he does. Silver's just... shy. Not painfully, but enough that he's used to being on his own." It's obvious that it's always worried her, by the way her hands wring together slightly and how she sighs. "He's friendly enough with everyone, since we're the only family he's known, but... I guess after having so many leave him behind he's a little numb to the idea of new friends. The reason we're friend is because I already have a mom so there's no danger of me leaving him."

But the unspoken thing is that he could leave her. Gold scratches the back of his head and Aibo dozes.

The dining area is light and full of conversation, the smell of food in the air long before he sees the open door, and no one looks up at them as they enter - except Silver. He raises a hand from his seat at the end closest to the door and Crys smiles as she comes over to greet him. Gold follows, standing even as Crys takes the seat offered to her by the redhead, and grins.

"Your breakfast looks good, but I bet my mom's is ten times better."

"Wanna try?"

Crys is about to protest, but he takes the fork from Silver and pops some eggs into his mouth.

... Not bad, but it's obviously made in a large batch for all the kids. It's got that industrial tang to it. But at least it's tasty.

"You're weird for not puttin' anything on it," he teases, and Silver motions to the ketchup on the side of his plate. Gold makes a face. "You don't dunk it, do you?"

"Of course not. You can't taste the eggs then." He takes the fork back and demonstrates the apparent art of dipping scrambled eggs into ketchup without overpowering them. Crys stands and goes to get her own food, resting her hand briefly on Silver's arm before leaving. Gold watches as she leaves, then takes her seat. The other boy is amused and annoyed.

"Crys says you and her are pretty good friends," he says casually, turning the conversation to something they both like.

Silver nods. "She's my best friend, next to Sneasel."

Gold's about to ask him where the weasel is, but a claw reaching from beneath the table answers his question. His trainer slips a piece of toast Sneasel and watches as Aibo gratefully takes a plate as he hangs off Crys's shoulder. Gold shrugs, scratching the Pokémon's head, and grins when he hears a loud purr in response. Silver seems a little surprised, but smiles. Maybe Sneasel didn't open up to strangers too often? Or maybe he was like his trainer, shy but friendly.

"What about it? Being friends." It's a solid question, and Gold tries to think of the answer he's got to give. The purring ceases as his scratching does too.

"How close are you two? Like, do you know her favorites and stuff?"

"... Of course I do." But from the way he says it and nothing else, he's not saying anything else. Gold frowns and leans on the table. Silver just eats and passes Sneasel food every now and then.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, what are they!"

"Just don't say anything stupid or hurt her and you two will get along just fine." And he won't hurt Gold, is the underlying meaning.

What a guard dog. "Obviously. What about you?" Smooth.

Silver shrugs, keeping his fork in his mouth as Crys returns, and stands with his empty plate. Crys nods to him and they switch places as he goes to fetch more food. Aibo hops down, plate full of food in his tail's grasp, and shares with Sneasel.

"You and Silver seem to get along well," she says. Gold shrugs, rolling his shoulders and grinning.

"I guess. He's not half as quiet as he seems. I could tell that yesterday! Are you only his friend 'cause he's shy, or what?"

Apparently a rude thing to say. Crys frowns, shaking her head. "I mean... That's the reason I wanted to be his friend, since he didn't seem to be close with anybody, but that's not the only one. Silver's very sweet and he has a good head on his shoulders, he's quiet but he's not soft spoken. If something matters to him he'll tell you. And he has a lot of heart. I'm just surprised he hasn't been adopted yet."

"He's been here for how many years?"

"Since he was a toddler. Even Sneasel isn't too hard to take care of, and I can't think of any reason other than that..." Crys picks at her food and smacks Gold's hand with her fork when it gets too close. "Maybe he likes it here."

"He's gotta get over it sometime. He ain't gonna be able to stay here for ever, after all. You could probably just shove him out right now and he'd be fine."

"We're not that kind of school, Gold. I'm not going to let them push him out until he's ready to leave - but I'm also not going to coddle him and say he can stay here forever."

Gold shrugs, scooting over as a kid leaves and Silver returns not a minute later. He can't tell if the other overheard them, but that's cleared up soon enough.

"They all live far away," he explains quietly. "I wanna be able to visit Crys."

Ah. Yeah. That'd probably do it. Gold leans his elbows against the table, thinking, and grins.

"Y'know, I'm lookin' for a little bro. And New Bark ain't but a hop and a skip away from here. If you lived with me, then you and Crys could still see each other whenever you wanted to!"

Crys glances over at Silver, who seems to be thinking about it. "... Can I bring Sneasel?"

"Yeah, of course! I mean, I've got a ton of Pokémon at home already... In fact, my place is pretty well known as the Pokémon House in town." He takes obvious pride in this, head high and eyes closed, and feels Aibo climb into his lap. "Aibo's just one of the many Pokémon you'll find livin' there. Wanna see? Wait, can we hang out outside of here?"

"Let me arrange it with the caretakers and we'll see." Crys smiles at Silver. "Do you want to, Silver?"

The idea of a house full of Pokémon definitely intrigues him, and he nods. Gold's grin widens and he claps Silver on the back.

"Cool! Alright, I'll tell my mom too! We'll bring him back safe and sound, Crys, so you ain't gotta worry 'bout a thing."

"Actually, chances are that I'll be joining him. They always like to have one of the staff come with the family to see how things are at the house anyway."

Gold and Crys talk about the visit, while Silver scoots beneath the table to sit with Sneasel. Aibo watches him curiously and then slips down to join them. The redhead pulls his Pokémon close and wonders what it'd be like to have friends that didn't leave so soon after they came. To live with a bunch of Pokémon. Violet City was so nice and peaceful, everyone so kind, but what was New Bark Town like? And if he remembered the map of Johto right, it really wasn't that far away... But it wasn't like he and Crys could see each other every day either. He buries his face into the weasel's fur and feels Sneasel's claws wrap around him comfortingly. Aibo flicks his tail worriedly, then hops back up onto the table.

The thought of leaving kind of scares him.


End file.
